Oorsig / Review
The 5 most important observation points to recognise the first signs of livestock disease
Dr Danie Odendaal Livestock health and production consultant
The biggest complaint vets have is that a lot of livestock handlers only realise an animal is ill when the disease has already progressed quite far . Frequently to the stage where successful treatment is highly unlikely . Furthermore , several CCS vets and vets in rural practices would like to improve the veterinary extension services in their areas . Especially to developing and upcoming farmers and farmers in remote areas where veterinary services are lacking or absent . The major stumbling block seems to be to train the livestock handlers to be able to recognise the signs of disease in the early stages .
To this end the Daily Observation Card ( DOC ) was developed by Veterinarian Network and Afrivet Training Services as an easy to follow routine of daily observation to spot signs of disease in the early stages . The trigger for seeking veterinary advice is when the livestock handler recognises the first signs of disease . The objective of the DOC system is to teach livestock handlers the method and importance of a daily routine of observation . In addition , the DOC cellphone app provides information on the significance and seriousness of each sign of disease . Therefor if a herdsman can identify the signs of disease earlier , and understand how serious each sign is , they can either treat the animal or contact you for advice or services a lot earlier , with a higher treatment success rate .
The idea is not to replace the veterinarian , but to teach herdsmen to prioritise symptoms and recognise which cases will need early veterinary intervention .
The DOC cellphone application is available FREE of charge to veterinarians and farmers in South Africa . See details at the end of this article on how to download the app .
The use of DOC is the cornerstone of good management practices , which can be implemented by each and every animal handler . Such as a small scale farmer , commercial farmer or workers on commercial farms . The model was rolled out and tested with numerous veterinarians , animal health technicians , extension officers and farmers during training days presented by Afrivet Training Services . It provides a very practical and essential tool at farm level , in order for livestock farmers to implement a daily routine , which drives primary animal health care as well as the early treatment or prevention of livestock diseases .
Early identification of the first signs of disease , is an essential part of successful treatment of treatable livestock diseases . It also forms the basis of disease surveillance on a regional and national basis . The success of the national disease reporting system , relies on the ability of livestock farmers to identify and report diseases as soon as the first signs of disease appears .
Key Points
1 . The livestock farmer can only initiate early treatment or the call for veterinary support service , after he / she recognises the first signs of disease .
2 . The limitation is that a 24 hour veterinary emergency service is not always immediately available , or affordable , for many livestock farmers in SA .
3 . Without veterinary assistance , the livestock farmer will take unassisted action , in order to treat the affected animal / s . Therefore any form of remote veterinary assistance , provided by a veterinary professional , is better than no assistance at all .
4 . Every animal owner can be trained to use a systematic and logical model of daily observation in order to identify the first signs of disease . These findings can then be used to provide Primary Animal Health Care or to obtain veterinary support .
5 . Remote veterinary support can only be provided if the veterinarian has the full picture of what the livestock owner is seeing . Which means recorded results of observation , examination and background information .
Below is a basic description and examples of the structure of the Daily Observation Card . This structured but logical model focuses on 5 main observation points .
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